Vapor electric device.



P. K. DEVERS.

VAPOR ELECTRIC DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 21, 1914.

1,176,661. I Patented Mar. 21,1916.

WZTNESSES [NYEJV TUB.

PHJLJP K 27123253 s,

H'Is AT TOP! NE'x CAL citizen UNETEE STfill-ig EATEEYIE @FFKGR PHILIP K. DEVERS, F LYNN, .MASSACHUSETTS, ASBIGNOR 'IO GENERAL ELECTRIC COIKIAIJY, A CORPGRATION OF NE'W YORK.

VAPOR ELECTRIC DEVICE.

Be it lnnmn that l, l 1

' of the L-nited llynn, count of set-tsi ha e invenle mung inveniiion (L, f llies an e-lecn'ie lighliiw "Ilkl n-m'einert in 1 a w in 1 is to pro. nee llgnlx 0r (lemma color n nof an elee rieai (llI-nfllill'ffi through enn-ilneb ing,- vapors will as an arc.

ill is well known flint ml eleelrie i reliseharge through the \apnr 0% many znlr stances produces light, deficient in eertnin colors. Thus the mercury are notably lacking in reel mail to sow green eelor. I 1

' Been prng'mseil lo mlel halogen (:nnr pounds of rho alkali metals tn :1 n'ierenry vapor lump in re it a desired color. These alkali rmnponrnls have an low a. vapor pressure that at ihe tennverninres nteainavble in a mercury hnnp, parth'rnlzu-ly the low pro sure, low temperature lamp in which lhey get. into "the are only in an irregular and iznp r'leel n'innner when vapin-meal by ill, eathncle spot. The. rerl raj/s adclecl ll'iereln, Hi the first nlaee are not so blended with the inriwiziiry spectrum as tn produce uniform. light and in the second place the cliflieulty vaporizahle enmponnd tend to escape from the are to eQoler par of the tnhe.

In zuwxnnlnnee with lily invention light of desired color is; produced by nseeiz'iting with the Ill'llfilllj", or like substance Whose spectrum is deficient in certain colors, 21 com Lncl, preferably a halogen compound, liming the desired SPQCt-lllln and having a vapor pressure of such magnitude that at the operating temperature of the device.

there will always he present in the are path a snpply of the added vapor. For er-zan'iple, by placing in the envelop 0f mercury vapor lamp of the high pressure type a quantity of a halisil of tantalum, an are 01" uniform color may he produced in which the deficiency of the mercury are of reel and in the ace I: an; n

'meeha nienllv.

Speeificatien in" Lei/Lars l-a'zent. lgfientcd E1131. 21, 1916:

1514 Serial H0. 327,573.

Vapor lampe oi the high pressure liable {or carrying out my invention.

in era-h (if th' 5e forms the cathodeconsists hi 11 hml of easily \iaporizahle metal 1, such "for eXnniple, as mercury or an amal- ZEULlC the exposed surface of ahly (a lislsllr; (ii plnlinuni. A device containing a hnlid vapor and n platinum nnmle z le 'frihe-(l and l in n i-npenilii'igr aji in iron, Serial 7,621. lileil ls l lzevhiel Weintrnnli.

llai'inmn alt'mngh it forms halogen Conrplum-11 1H not llltliCllCK l by the heated hzilngg'en minpunn l nrlthe device. memes ofiher uen lm'tire innierials, for example, earlmn may he llfliil in the lamp, they are .a aaiis ei-er) as platinunr The lube are l neil nil/er a relatively snarl when living (filllmll as anode nialleial.

Linn: The nil-losing enx'elnp 3 consists of fused quartz: into \rhieh leading-in (i-QllllllCiiOl'Sfl, 5 are eenlell by surrounding then'i with a having substantially the eznne eoelli men? of expunrmin and inining these glassee in the i'nsell quartz by 11. series of intermediate zones of glasfihaving siwcessively n r era-eniages of silica an the pure quartz npprozu-heil. Preferably the con (Meters l 5 ronsist hi .hllllf'" en and are sur plat-iinnn anode either in a fused joint or Of em lise. the leadingrin wires may also consist of platinum if desi ml. lulhis case the graded seal must be step ii up to 21 glass having the same (:0 eflicieni; of expahisiun as plzrlzinunn for (3X ample lead As shown in l and 2 the cathode chamber 5 flatteinrr: and is nearly tilled so as in leave vonly a contracted space between the upper surface 01: the Ci'xiliuh and the roof of the cathode rhnniher. In Fig. l the Cillillfillf, chamber 6 is connected with (he main are elnnnliier 7 by in ms of a narrow threat- 8, walls 01" which are thickened as h heated s0 to withstand the healing action of the are. This narrow threat serves to steady the a Into Contact with the mercury hnclv constituting the eathecleis placed a, small q nti '5 of the substance or snhslnnces to be i min 0 ihe a1 in raining it is not dis- IDHS%S When light of a White id for eentrihuting the material is color is desired I preferably use a tantalum halid, for example, the chlorid of tantalum. This compound has a vapor pressure at the operating temperature of the device of about the same order of magnitude as mercury. Although the amount of material introduced may be varied considerably, I may say for the purposeof illustration that about .00? to .1 gram of the halid will give good results. The cathode chamber, which is the coolest part of the envelop, is so proportioned that no part of it will be at a temperature low enough to permit the tantalum chlorid or other halogen compound to entirely condense and thus escape from the are. In general the device should not contain zones or spots which will remain at a temperature low enough to condense the material used to modify the color of the light to such an ex tent as to remove it from the arc. Other halogen compounds may be used similarly. for example, compounds of niobium, biemuth, antimony, arsenic and aluminum or mixtures of these compounds. In general I prefer to use a halid which either forms no sub-halid, that is, a sub-chlorid, subbromid or the like, orwhich forms a sub-halid which is also volatile to such degree that a supply of its vapor is present in the arc space at the normal operating temperature of the device. The halids of niobium, bismuth and antimonycontribute light having a spectrum particularly rich in blue rays. I find that it is most advantageous to use compounds of the tantalum group. As a general rule materials should be used which re solid or liquid at room temperature and 'which therefore permit starting of the de vice without complicating the electrical characteristics of the device.

The lamp described may be started in the usual manner by tilting so as to bring the mercury constituting the cathode in contact with the anode and then returning the envelop to the horizontal position thereby drawing an" arc. The are very soon Va 'porizes the halogen compound which takes part in carrying the current, the are then emitting light having a spectrum of both the mercpry, or other vaporizable metal constituting the cathode, and the halogen compound.

. In my opiniomthe halogen compound and the mercury may in some cases, as for instance with tantalum chlorid and mercury, reversibly react with each other so that at the normal operating temperature of the de vice there is present at the same time with the halogen compound added a quantity of mercury halogen compound, for example,

mercurous chlorid and also some free chlorin and some uncombined tantalum or other metal Whose halogen compound is added.

lVhat I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent or" the UnitedStates, is, 1. A vapor electric device comprising an envelop, means for producing an electrical discharge in said envelop, and a vaporizable halogen compound contributing light to said discharge, said envelop being proportioned to operate with the coolest region. at a temperature above the condensing temperature of said compound.

2. A vapor electric device comprising an envelop, a mercury cathode, an anode, a halogen compound assuming a condensed state at room temperature and furnishing a light-contributing conductive vapor at the operating temperature of the device, said envelop being proportioned to assume through out during operation a temperature above the condensing temperature of said compound.

3. A vapor electric lamp comprising a mercury cathode, an anode, a quantity of tantalum halid and an inclosing refractory envelop proportioned to operate throughout at a temperature at which the tantalum halid has a vapor pressure of the same order of magnitude as the mercury in said envelop.

4. A vapor electric lamp comprising amercury cathode, an anode, a halogen compound having a spectrum rich in red and bluerays, said compound being condensed at room temperature and having at the oper- Y ating temperature of said device a vaporpressure oi the same order of magnitude as the mercury, and an inclosing envelop pro portioned to assume in the coolest portion a temperatiii'e suliiciently high to maintain said compound in a 'ivaporized state in an arc betweenajzsaidfelectrodes?" I 51A vapor electric lamp comprising the combination of an envelop 'consisting'of material more refractory than glass, means for operating an are within sald envelop and a supply of a halid of tantalum, or its de scribed equivalent, within said envelop, the envelop being proportioned to assume during the operation of the device a temperature in its coolest part approximating the boiling point of said vaporizable material. I

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-fourth day of-March, 1914;.

. PHILIP K. DEVERS. Witnesses:

JOH A. McMANUs, Jr., FRANK G. HATrm. 

